Elao Martin earned his undergraduate degree in Architecture from the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) and his Master’s in Architectural Technology from the University of Johannesburg.

Throughout his studies, Martin has received various awards, including a certificate of excellence from the 2017 inaugural Africa Architecture Awards.

In 2019, he rejoined NUST as a Staff Development Fellow, forming part of the Graduate Talent Acceleration Programme and, currently, he is completing a PhD in architecture at NUST, as well as pursuing his professional training and registration at Jaco Wasserfall Architects.

His interests concern African domesticity and informal settlements, and, in particular, bridging the gap between professional architectural knowledge and the realities of place in Africa’s informal settlements.

He was a Selected Scholar at the Norman Foster Foundation - Re-materializing Housing Workshop, supported by the Holcim Foundation and held in Madrid in 2021.